If you think cooking involves opening the refrigerator and putting the frozen dinner inside the microwave, you are wrong. It involves far more than you think and if you want to improve your cooking, you will take this to heart. It requires a lot of preparation, testing, cutting and tasting. And in some cases, even the washing after you are done with making the perfect dish.
In short, cooking is not easy. Ask any chef or you mom; or better yet why not try yourself? You will soon find out that making a dish is not some simple task that involves a swish of the magic wand. It is hard work that involves precision, readiness and timing, perfect timing.
If you want to improve your cooking skills and produce dishes that your family will marvel at, here are some of the skills that you need to develop.
Measuring in precise terms Although professional chefs no longer rely on measuring tools like cups and spoons, remember that you are far from being a professional. In fact, you are just learning and until you master cooking, you need these tools to stay in the game an produce at least a passable dish that you family can stomach to eat!
Measuring cups and spoons are there to help you determine just how much ingredients you need to put. How much salt or how much sugar. In cooking, measuring is everything, not unless you want your dish to taste like saltwater.
Timing A lot of timing is involved in cooking. For the professionals, timing is more of an instinct or expertise. They know upon seeing the meat if boiling should already be stopped or if the vegetables should be pulled out of the pan before it becomes overcooked.
But for those who are just learning the ropes, timing is the number of minutes that is indicated in the recipe. That is why a watch is one of the essentials that you need to have if you are cooking. In fact, some even put an alarm so that they will be reminded that it is already time. Food can be really delicate. A minute more than what should be can be disastrous to a dish.
Taste Some have it, some don't but the good news is for those who do not have the developed palate that chefs have, the art of tasting a dish can be learned. Taste is very important especially in determining if you should add a little bit more of flavor to the dish. Should you add salt to make it tastier or should you add water to lessen the saltiness. A lot of decisions are involved in cooking and you need a good palate to determine just what will be a hit to the people who will be eating what you prepared.
Picky attitude The foundation of a good dish is not just the talent of the person who cooks it but also the quality of the ingredients that were used to prepare it. This means that no matter how good the chef is, he cannot make stale ingredients taste delicious.
Old fish will still taste like old fish no matter how many flavorings you add into it. That is why it is important to also develop the skill of looking for fresh ingredients. Ask around and let people in the marketplace teach you how to spot the fresh veggie. If you really want to improve your cooking, lowering your pride will not be so difficult.
Milos Pesic is a certified culinary trainer who owns a highly popular and comprehensive Culinary Arts web site. For more articles and resources on cooking, free cooking classes and instructions, cooking recipes, cooking lessons and much more, visit his site at:
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